As I’ve discussed the idea of using game mechanics to help focus and motivate people with friends over the past year or two, I’ve received some tepid feedback at times, but haven’t been able to really grok the concerns they have expressed. Sebastian Deterding, at the recent Playful 2010 conference, does a brilliant job of putting the potential shortcomings of this approach into a form that even my oft-overenthusiastic brain can grasp. It would consider it an essential resource if you’re also a proponent of this sort of thing: